The Assassin's Touch
by emmadactryl
Summary: Four members of Alpha Force are being hunted down, but the person sent to kill them is the last one they would expect. Rated T for violence later on.
1. The Assassin

The black haired girl whirled about quickly, long plait twisting behind her like a whip. She brought her leg up and landed a roundhouse kick in her opponent's back, right on the kidneys. Her opponent, a tall, thin man, screamed and fell to the ground, whimpering in agony. The girl smirked and stepped back, watching as the man writhed, clutching his back. Two other men stepped forward, pulled the man to his feet and dragged him out of the room.

The girl turned around, her eyes questioning.

'Well done,' rasped a soft voice. The owner of the voice walked towards the girl. He took her hands in his and kissed her cheek lightly.

The girl smiled, her Anglo-Chinese features catching the late afternoon sunlight streaming in from a high window. 'I did well?' she asked.

'Very,' the man answered. He dropped the girl's hands and studied her. The girl was short and petite, but her arms were wiry and muscled and she was quick on her feet with superb balance. _She's just what I was looking for_, the man thought. _And she's perfect for the job. _

'What do you want me to do now?' the girl said.

'Meet me in B Block,' he said calmly, but inside he was excited. She was ready. Soon, in just a matter of days, those four pesky brats would be disposed of. For good.

'Of course,' smiled the girl, nodding once. She turned and started to leave but stopped. 'Greg?'

'Yeah?' Greg frowned slightly.

'Am I going on an assignment soon?'

Greg grinned and nodded. 'I have a special assignment for you, my dear. I'll tell you in B Block.'

* * *

The girl hurried through the maze of hallways. When she'd arrived here just a month before, she'd gotten lost and had to have a guide with her at all times for the first two weeks. The guide had also doubled as a guard, to prevent her from escaping, though the girl had forgotten about that now. She'd been brainwashed so that every memory of her past life had been erased. Her head had been filled with thoughts of revenge and anger and removed of any love or happiness. Once in a while she'd get a brief flash of images in her head, but the pictures were appearing less and less and becoming more blurry by the day.

The corridor turned sharply and the girl pushed open the door leading to B Block. It wasn't so much a block as one room; white ceiling, walls and floor, just like every single room in the complex. A table was set in the very centre of the room, and three black chairs were positioned on either side of it.

Greg was sitting in the chair furthest from the door, a woman sitting on his right and a man perched on a chair across from him. Greg looked up as the door opened and smiled a welcome.

'Come on in,' he exclaimed pointing to a seat. The girl entered and sat by herself at the far end of the table.

'Mr Edwards says you are ready for your first job. Is that correct?' the woman asked, a tinge of venom in her voice.

The girl drew herself up and looked squarely at the woman. 'Yes. That is correct. I am very capable of going out on an assignment.'

The woman put on a pair of black rimmed reading glasses and skimmed the sheet of paper in front of her. 'You have shown amazing talent in the dojo and on the obstacle course. You know several languages and have survival skills. You are skilled in free-climbing and gymnastics...' The woman pulled the glasses off and pushed them up onto the top of her head, where they settled on her jet black hair. She regarded the girl for a few seconds before turning to Greg. 'Mr Edwards. This girl could have gone on an assignment weeks ago.'

Greg looked uncomfortable and leaned closer to the woman, lowering his voice. 'With all due respect, she needed the first three weeks in treatment.'

The woman sat up sharply and raised her eyebrows. 'But she is fine, now?'

'Of course,' Greg said hurriedly. 'She can't recall a thing about her past.'

'Right.' The woman gathered her folders and stood up. 'I am assuming that you have an assignment in mind, Mr Edwards.'

'Yes,' Greg agreed. 'I have the perfect job.'

'Good.' The woman was almost out the door when she paused and turned back to face the girl. 'What's your name?' she demanded.

The girl blinked and said slowly, 'Li. Li Cheong.' The woman smiled, a tiny twitch of her lips that didn't reach her eyes, and left.

Greg turned to Li and gestured to the other man. 'Li. This is Sparks. He'll be guiding you along, but leaving most of the work up to you.'

'Hi.' Sparks beamed at Li, extending his hand. Li shook his hand briefly before turning back to Greg.

'Tell me what I have to do,' she said.

Greg hesitated before drawing a series of photos out of the folder in front of him. Sometimes the memories came back when photos were shown and he shot a casual look at Sparks. He nodded slightly and his hand drifted to his belt, gripping the handle of the knife gently.

Li had stood up and come round the table to Greg. She slipped into the chair next to him and pulled the photos out of his grasp. Her brow furrowed as she looked at the images. There were four pictures. One was of a pale faced boy with grey eyes, blonde hair, standing outside a school building; the second photo showed a heavily-built boy, his Latin-American features blurred slightly, as though the camera had moved just as the shutter had clicked down; a tall, black girl with close-cropped hair was the subject of the third photograph; the final picture was of another boy, this one with green eyes and short brown hair, sticking up in spikes. Li studied the photographs before sliding the back to Greg. 'These are my targets?' she asked incredulously. 'They look the same age as me.'

'They _are_ the same age as you,' Greg said, packing away the photos. 'The have caused a fair amount of trouble and some people want it stopped. These are no ordinary kids and they don't stick to doing ordinary things.' Greg paused and looked steadily at Li. 'You need to find them and kill them. I want no witnesses and preferably one scene.'

'One scene?' questioned Li.

'If possible, get rid of them all in the one place, at the one time. I don't care how you do it, but they have to go.'

Li answered without hesitation. 'They're gone.'


	2. Realisation

**ONE MONTH EARLIER**

Amber slid her leg behind the girth and clicked her tongue. Snoopy, her Appaloosa gelding, obliged, lengthening his stride and switching smoothly into a canter. Feeling the air whip across her face, Amber grinned. She urged Snoopy around the ring, turning into the centre once she reached the end. Snoopy's long stride quickly ate up the ground and he bounded easily over the two jumps. Amber brought him back to a trot and finally a walk, laughing as her horse snorted disapprovingly and shook his head.

'That'll do for now,' she told him, patting his white flecked neck. Snoopy whinnied and chomped on the bit, pulling at the reins Amber held in her glove clad fingers. 'No more!' she said, trying to sound severe and failing. It was a beautiful day, she was riding her fabulous horse and the holidays had just started. Nothing could spoil her good mood.

'Amber!' Amber's uncle, John Middleton, came hurrying across from the house, the hands free phone clutched tightly in one hand. Something about the way he was moving made Amber worry. She quickly slid off Snoopy, grabbed his reins and led him over to the gate, unlatching it and swinging it open.

'What's the matter?' she asked as John came to a halt in front of her. Her uncle took Scooby's reins from her and pressed the phone into her now-free hand.

'I'll take him,' he said, nodding at Snoopy who was contentedly pulling at the grass. 'It's Paulo.'

As John headed off, dragging the rather reluctant Snoopy behind him, Amber pressed the phone to her ear.

'Paulo?'

'Oh, Amber, hi.' Paulo sounded worried, though he was trying to hide it. 'You haven't heard from Li lately, have you?'

Amber thought back, trying to recall when her last conversation with the Anglo-Chinese girl had been. 'Um... No. The last time I heard from her... Must have been last Tuesday.'

'Five days,' Paulo said. He fell silent and Amber started to panic.

'Paulo? What's happened?'

'Nothing. Well, I hope it's nothing.'

'What's happened?' Amber insisted, her voice starting to rise in pitch.

'Li's parents left her at home for two days. They were spending that time at the London Zoo and staying over night so they could work later and start earlier.' Paulo took a deep breath before saying, 'They got back to their house this morning and Li wasn't there.'

* * *

Hex's green eyes roamed about the airport. Alex stood at his shoulder, looking around as well.

'Can you see them?' he murmured. Hex started to shake his head, caught sight of Amber and Paulo and nodded instead.

'Over there.' Hex pointed towards customs, where two very weary people were threading their way through the crowds. He raised his voice and called, 'Amber! Paulo! Over here.'

Amber heard Hex's voice and looked in the direction she thought it came from. Catching sight of Hex and Alex waving their arms, she tapped Paulo's shoulder. 'There they are.'

'Right,' Paulo replied. He picked up his bag and started towards the two boys. Amber followed with a sigh; Paulo looked so lost and worried- normally he was happy-go-lucky and carefree, but Li's disappearance had changed all of that.

* * *

'Any news?' Amber asked as she sat down at the table. No one answered, but Alex shook his head. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes, before Amber, unable to bear it any longer blurted, 'Do you think this is connected to us? Alpha Force I mean.'

It was Hex who answered. 'That's what we thought, but then why only Li? Why not kidnap any of us as well?'

'And,' added Alex, 'if they only wanted one of us, why chose Li?'

Amber thought about their theory. 'I suppose,' she said slowly, 'Li was an obvious target if they were watching their house. They would have seen her parents leave, most likely known they wouldn't be back for a while…' It sounded doubtful, even to Amber herself.

'Have you been left at home by yourself lately? I have,' Hex said.

'Me too,' agreed Alex. Paulo kept silent, staring at the tabletop. His three friends shared a worried look over his head.

'The police,' Amber said. 'Do they know about…'

Alex and Hex looked guilty for a moment. 'No,' they said in unison.

Nodding, Amber clasped her hands together. 'I suppose that's for the best, right? I mean, we're not even sure it's related to our work yet.'

Looking relieved, Hex replied, 'That's what we thought, but, if there is the slightest hint that Li's abduction _is_ connected to what we've done, then we tell the police straight away.' Amber and Alex nodded their agreement.

A waitress bustled over and asked them if they wanted anything. Declining the offer of food, but ordering drinks, the four friends once again lapsed into silence. Alex looked out the café window and stared at the cars and buses streaming past. It was weird; when one group of people were faced with something so horrible, life for everyone else continued as normal. It felt wrong. Li was missing, faced with innumerable dangers, and yet life went on.

Hex was chatting quietly to Amber, pointing every now and then to something displayed on his palmtop's screen. Amber was nodding every now and then, although she had a slightly confused expression on her face. As his focus shifted to Paulo, Alex smile disappeared. The Argentinean was just sitting slumped in his chair, eyes looking glazed. At least on their missions they knew what they were up against. This... Not only did they have no idea where Li was, but they didn't know who had kidnapped her, if she was injured or...dead. Alex shuddered and pushed the thoughts from his mind, tuning back into Hex and Amber's conversation.

'...so it's probably best if we don't stay at my house,' Hex was saying.

Amber sat back in her chair. 'Remember when we all first met? When we were stranded on that bloody island?'

'Hmmm...' Hex answered with his typical sarcasm. 'No... I don't think I remember that, or being bitten by a komodo dragon, or almost dieing of septicaemia, or being chased by pirates, or-'

'Ok, ok,' Amber interrupted him. 'Stupid question. But anyway... I recall saying something about talking with my uncle about buying a house in London. We _did_ end up buying that house- it's actually more of a apartment- and Uncle uses it when he's here- by "here" I mean London- on business. He said before I left that we were welcome to use it if we needed somewhere to stay.' She paused as the waitress returned with their drinks, set them down on the table and left. 'So what do you reckon?'

Hex was sipping his drink and Paulo was still silent, so Alex nodded. 'Great.'

'I have a set of keys, so we can go there whenever. Are you staying at Hex's?' Amber directed her last comment at Alex. He nodded and Amber continued. 'Right. You can two can go back there and get your stuff, then follow us on. I'll give you directions.'

Ten minutes later, Alex and Hex, armed with a napkin containing scrawled directions to the apartment, set off for Hex's place. Amber and Paulo walked in the opposite direction, heading towards the Thames.

'Where is your place?' Paulo asked quietly after a few minutes of relative silence.

Amber was surprised and pleased to hear his voice again. 'About five minutes away, or so. Near Regent's Park.'

'Right.' Paulo nodded and lapsed back into silence.

They arrived at the apartment a few minutes later. Amber unlocked the door and held it open for Paulo before stepping inside and latching it again.

'This is it,' she announced, following Paulo into the lounge room. 'The kitchen and living room are down here, with the patio. There are two bedrooms upstairs, with the toilet and bathroom.'

Paulo was climbing the stairs on the left side of the entrance and Amber hurried after him. When she reached the top, Paulo was nowhere to be found.

'Paulo?' Amber called. She peered down the short hallway. 'Paulo?' To her right was the bathroom and the toilet; directly in front of her was the entrance to the second bedroom and to her left was the first bedroom door. Amber pushed open the door of the first bedroom and peered inside. No one. The second bedroom it was, then.

Standing by the window, Paulo was looking out across Regent's Park, a thoughtful and concerned look on his face. Amber came up beside him, reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.

'We'll find her, Paulo,' she whispered. 'We'll find her.'

**A/N Apologies if any information about London is wrong. Rather hard to describe it if you haven't been there and the internet can only provide so much. Also, the capital and bold heading at the top of the next few chapters (example "ONE MONTH EARLIER" at the start of this chapter) relates to the time from events in the first chapter. So, if the next chapter says "THREE WEEKS EARLIER" at the top, that means that the events happening in the following text took place three weeks before events in chapter one. Ok? Hope that wasn't too confusing. **


	3. Searching

**THREE WEEKS EARLIER**

Amber was halfway through her bowl of cereal when the front door was thrown open. Footsteps clattered into the lounge room and Hex's tired face appeared from around the corner.

'Anything?' Amber asked around a mouthful of Cornflakes.

Hex dropped his coat onto one of the armchairs and slumped against the kitchen bench, scowling. 'They can't tell us, apparently.' His voice was unmistakably bitter.

The cereal turned to sawdust in Amber's mouth. With difficulty she swallowed. 'Do you think...?'

'What?' Hex's green eyes immediately sharpened.

'That we're not being told anything because something bad has happened,' Amber finished hesitantly. Her comment was supposed to sound like a statement, but came out halfway towards being a question. To her relief, Hex immediately shook his head.

'No,' he insisted. 'What would be the point of that?'

Sighing, Hex pulled out the bar stool next to Amber and sat down. He put his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands, staring at a small puddle of milk by the cartoon.

'Well then why aren't they telling us what's going on?' Amber demanded when it became obvious Hex wasn't going to say anything else.

Hex turned his head slightly and looked at Amber's face for a moment before answering. 'Most likely they have no idea where Li is.' He switched his focus back to the spilled milk. There was a slight squeak as Amber's stool slid back across the lino. She grabbed her still half-full bowl and stormed around the bench, into the actual kitchen.

'Why don't they know anything?' she fumed, scraping the rest of her breakfast into the bin under the sink. 'They're the police, aren't they?'

Hex watched her with slight concern. 'Did you have enough to eat?' he asked, thinking of the large amount of cereal now sitting in the bin.

'Yes,' Amber snapped without turning around. She scrubbed angrily at her bowl, trying to control her rising irritation. Li had been missing for a week now and still nothing had been found. The Cheong's house had been searched thoroughly, but, with nothing being found, the police had come to the conclusion that Li mightn't have been snatched from the house. If she was snatched at all.

Amber frowned out the window as she remembered the previous morning. They'd gone around to see Li's parents and ask them what was happening, to find two uniformed police officers and a plain clothes detective standing in the living room with Li's mother.

'So as I was saying, Mrs Cheong,' the detective had said in a nervous tone, 'it is looking as though you're daughter may not have been abducted from your house.'

'What?' Mrs Cheong had sounded outraged. 'She's responsible and Nancy was keeping an eye out for her. She said Li never left the house!'

The detective perched on the edge of the sofa and cleared his throat. 'Well, our forensic team has been through here with a fine tooth comb and nothing remotely suspicious has been found. If you're daughter didn't leave the house and wasn't kidnapped outside then...' He trailed off, finishing the sentence being unnecessary; everyone knew what he was implying.

'Li did not willing go with anyone!' Mrs Cheong exploded. 'How dare you stand here and accuse my daughter of something so, so' –she searched for the right word- '_immature_!'

The detective had obviously realised he'd crossed the line because he wisely stood up, backing right off. Mrs Cheong carried on, regardless.

'Don't you even dare _think_ of accusing my daughter of running off with some weirdo,' she spat. 'Li isn't like that.' She glowered at him. 'I'd appreciate it if you left now.'

Corralling the two uniformed officers, the detective had muttered a farewell and left quickly. It had taken two cups of tea, fifteen minutes and all of Alpha Force's calming tactics to transform Mrs Cheong back into her peaceful and controlled self.

Alpha Force. Amber winced, realising she'd thought that automatically. Li wasn't with them so how could they be Alpha Force? She dropped the bowl onto the draining board and turned around, leaning against the sink.

'Are you sure you're ok?' Hex asked worriedly, watching Amber's rather shaky stance and the death grip she had inflicted on the edge of the counter.

'Yeah,' Amber answered, but this time there was no annoyance in her words.

Alex chose this moment to enter. His blonde hair was tousled and dark circles ringed the bottom of his eyes.

'Morning,' he murmured.

Hex raised an eyebrow. 'You look like death,' he said. Alex ignored him, slotting a piece of bread into the toaster and watching the coils turn red. His gaze flitting back and forth between Alex and Amber, Hex had an idea. Alex's toast popped up, making all three of the jump. Grinning sheepishly, Alex flipped the toast onto the plate and smeared butter over it. He was just about to find something else to put on it, when he looked up and caught sight of Hex's expression.

'What are you thinking?' Alex's voice sounded slightly apprehensive, wondering what plan Hex had cooking. Another head swivelled in Hex's direction as Amber tuned in.

'When you've finished your toast, Alex, and Paulo's dragged his bum out of bed,' he said slowly, 'I think we should do a bit of investigating of our own.'

* * *

The shadows threw up weird and wonderful shapes against the back fence. Amber, crouched next to Alex, froze as a branch broke to her left. All her instincts screamed at her to run, but Amber stayed put, shooting a questioning glance in Alex's general direction. He put his finger to his lips and nodded to a dark shape emerging from the darkness. The tabby cat saw Amber and Alex, hissed and bounded away. Amber let out a breath that she hadn't realised she was holding as Alex tapped her shoulder and pointed at the fence.

As Alex opened the side gate and slipped into the backyard, Amber felt edgy again. This felt wrong somehow. Alex was waiting for her to catch up, huddled next to a large bush.

'Why are we sneaking around?' Amber whispered as she joined him.

'Li's mum isn't here; she's gone to stay with her sister, Debbie or something. Besides' –Alex grinned suddenly- 'we like a challenge.'

Amber rolled her eyes and peeked out from behind the bush. A pair of eyes stared straight back at her and Amber gave a startled squawk, scrabbling backwards and bumping into Alex.

'Sorry. Did I frighten you?' Hex's familiar accent floated towards them and Amber growled as his head appeared.

'Idiot,' she muttered, thumping his arm.

He grinned and squashed in beside her behind the bush. 'Paulo's keeping watch. Amber,' Hex said in a low voice, 'you'll have to go through the laundry window and let us in. They don't have an alarm system, so we haven't got anything to worry about.'

Amber nodded automatically, before realising what Hex had just said. 'Hang on. Why me?'

In answer, Hex gestured at Alex and himself. 'That window is tiny and we certainly won't fit.'

The three of them squirmed forward, Amber muttering to herself. They reached the side of the house, the laundry window near the top and not nearly as small as Amber had thought. She'd be able to fit, though it might take a bit of wriggling.

'Ok,' Alex whispered. 'Put one foot in Hex's hands and one foot in mine.' The two boys cupped their hands to form a step that Amber would be able to stand on. Gripping the tops of their heads, she stood, her head now level with the window.

'Grab the edge,' hissed Hex, 'and pull yourself through. We'll feed your legs through, so grab onto something on the other side.'

Amber did as Hex told her, poking her head through the open window and using her arms to pull her through. Luckily there was a washing machine right underneath her and, as the two boys pushed the rest of her body through the window, she simply supported herself on the washing machine.

Five minutes later, Hex and Alex had joined her. They crept through the house, heading for the stairs.

'What are we hoping to find?' Amber murmured.

'Something that will lead us to find Li,' answered Hex in a patronising tone. Amber could easily hear the unspoken, _What were you thinking of looking for?, _and she ground her teeth.

'I know that,' she said. 'But the police have been through here already. What are we going to find that trained professionals couldn't?'

'We know Li, therefore something that the police and whoever else was sorting through everything here might have overlooked might be a breakthrough for us.' Hex stopped by Li's bedroom door and looked at his friends. 'Just remember that what we find we may not like,' he added softly.

Li's bedroom was loud and vibrant, just like Li. Two walls and the cupboards were painted orange, while the remaining wall and the door was a flaming red. Amber would have thought the two colours would never have worked in a bedroom, but this somehow did. There was a simple wooden bed and next to it a bedside table. Two bookcases were pushed against the red wall, and stuffed to the max with various non-fiction books and novels.

Amber crossed the room and looked at Li's bedside table. Her heart ached when she caught sight of the picture beside her bed. Alpha Force, complete and whole, were standing together smiling broadly. Amber recognised the tree next to Paulo and realised it was the photo her Uncle had taken just two months ago when they were all staying at the Middleton's house. How had things changed so quickly? How was it that just two short months ago, the five of them were having such a great time together and now Li was missing? It didn't make sense.

Replacing the photo on the table, Amber turned her attention back to their hunt. Alex was looking through Li's cupboard while Hex sifted through the bookshelf. Amber had no idea what they were hoping to find, but she decided to humour them and join in. Dropping to the ground, Amber studied the floor from the carpet's point of view. Li was very tidy, or maybe her parents had cleaned up after the forensic team went through. Wiggling forward on her stomach, Amber caught sight of a scrap of paper under the bed. Maybe if the room hadn't been so spotless, Amber wouldn't have noticed. As it was, the tiny piece of white stood out sharply against the carpet.

'Guys, I found something,' Amber said, her voice slightly muffled by the carpet and being under the bed.

'What?' Hex and Alex sounded excited. They dropped what they were doing and dropped own next to Amber, just as she emerged from under the bed.

'_Angels_,' Amber read. She flipped it over but the rest of the paper was blank. 'What's it mean? That could be from anything!'

Hex gently pulled the paper from Amber's hands before she ripped it up. 'It may be insignificant by itself, but it could be the final piece of information that leads us to Li.' He slipped the paper into his palmtop case, strapped securely to his belt. 'I'll hold onto it.'

Frustrated by their lack of success in Li's room, the three friends searched the rest of the house quickly, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. They left via the back door, Hex reminding Amber to lock it behind her which resulted in her snarling and muttering under her breath again.

Paulo was waiting in the shadowy alley next to the block of flats across the road. His face lit up when he saw his friends.

'Anything?' he asked hopefully. Alex shook his head and Paulo's face fell.

'Hang on,' Hex interrupted. 'Amber _did_ find a piece of paper with the word "angels" on it, but as to what that means, well...' He trailed off and shrugged.

Paulo squared his shoulders and stared at the house. 'If it means something you will figure it out, Hex. I know you will.' He grinned suddenly, making his friends smile in return, relieved to see Paulo relatively happy again.

'If any one can crack it, code boy can,' Amber added, tapping Hex's head gently.

They walked back to the apartment, still carrying on with their carefree attitude, laughing and joking, completely unaware that they were being followed.


	4. Hunting in Pairs

**ONE WEEK EARLIER**

The young woman stood and stretched her arms. After hours sitting hunched up in a dark and damp corner, she was eager to get moving. Her targets were leaving the apartment and she wasn't going to be left behind. Two weeks of careful watching, waiting and following and it was all going to pay off. Soon she would have disposed of them. Soon the Angel Squad would triumph. Soon those pesky brats would be gone for good.

* * *

'Hang on,' Amber said. She had been walking down the footpath with Alex, Hex and Paulo but now she stopped with a frown. 'Can anyone remember if I locked the door?'

Hex gave a tired sigh. 'One simple little thing you had to do and-'

'Shut up,' Amber called over her shoulder as she walked back to the apartment.

Trying the handle, Amber found it _was_ locked. She still felt like she'd forgotten something and lingered by the door.

'Hurry up!' Alex and Hex were making their way back to Amber with Paulo trailing along behind.

'Coming,' Amber replied, but she still didn't move. With one last test of the door, Amber started to turn around, preparing to rejoin her friends. Out of the corner of her eye, a shadowy figure stood up. Maybe it was the cautious yet purposeful may the figure moved; maybe it was the fact that they were hiding in an alleyway. Whatever the reason, Amber immediately felt the cold hand of fear grip her heart in a vice.

'Get Paulo,' hissed Amber as Hex ands Alex drew level with her.

Hex looked puzzled. 'What?'

In answer, Amber looked slightly in the direction of the figure. Hex, trusting Amber's judgement, didn't even look, just said, 'What do we do?'

'We walk calmly away. We'll go into Regent's Park and try to lose them there. Whatever happens, we don't split up.' Amber beckoned to Paulo who strolled over, looking slightly puzzled. After the situation was explained to him, the four of them set off the way they had started, taking a leisurely and carefree pace.

They walked around the edge of Regent's Park, painfully aware of the person following them. She was a young woman, dressed in black jeans and a black skivvy. Although her build was slight, she looked strong and controlled, trailing Alpha Force with an easy manner. Halfway down Marylebone Road, Amber spotted York Gate.

'Into the park,' murmured Amber, nudging Paulo. He swung to the right, picking up the pace as the woman behind them lengthened her stride, decreasing the distance between them by several metres.

She'd figured out where they were going and she didn't like it.

Walking up the path, Hex became aware of how quiet it was. The weather was miserable with huge black clouds hanging ominously low overhead, a cold wind blowing and a fine drizzle constantly present. There were a few people scattered around, but they all hurrying through the park, intent on their own business and not aware of the trouble the four teenagers were in.

'Do we run?' Alex whispered as they reached the park's centre.

Paulo cast a casual glance over his shoulder and whipped back around in shock. 'She's right behind us.'

The woman had closed the gap and was striding along two metres behind Alpha Force, grey eyes flat and face expressionless. She was obviously supremely fit, barely breaking a sweat even after her continual fast pace. With the woman gaining on them with every second, Alpha Force knew they had only one option. Without even consulting each other, the four of them simultaneously broke into a steady jog, listening for the quicker footfalls of their follower.

Cutting to the right, across the park, Hex checked behind them, expecting to see the woman right behind them.

'She's gone,' he said flatly and with obvious suspicion. His friends slowed but he shook his head. 'Keep going. Make it look like we were just going for a run.'

Amber scoffed, though she didn't slacken off her pace. 'Yeah, right. She's been watching the house, Hex. Whether we were running from her or just for the hell of it, I doubt it'll make a difference.'

'Just keep running,' Hex grunted.

Gloucester Gate was just ahead of them. Popping out into the street, Amber longed for a coach load of tourists to suddenly pull up, armed with video recorders and cameras. The woman, wherever she'd disappeared to, wouldn't try anything with so many witnesses and so many possible ways to record the evidence. Amber shivered as she realised what she was thinking. Could this woman be the person who had abducted Li? And what was she planning to do to the rest of Alpha Force?

For the next half an hour, they wandered up and down streets, unaware of where they were going, only knowing that they needed to get away from the woman. She reappeared just outside Regent's Park, walking sedately behind them. After that, she vanished and appeared every few minutes. There seemed to be no order, no definite plan that she was following, until Hex realised where they were.

'She's herding us!' he cried, looking in despair at the desolate area surrounding them. It was a no-through road, with no traffic, no people. No witnesses. Warehouses and lock-ups dotted the immediate area.

The woman stepped into the road, feet shoulder-width apart and hands relaxed by her sides. Her stance said that she was in control and she knew it. The teenagers were trapped and no one knew where they were.

'Hello,' she said in a silky voice. 'No hard feelings, but I need to dispose of you four.'

'Dispose?' Hex snorted. 'Why don't you just say murder?'

Beside him, Amber rolled her eyes and sighed inwardly. Trust Hex to not see the obvious life threatening situation breathing in their faces. He'd done it before and he'd do it again.

The woman seemed slightly off put that one of her intended victims answered her back. She was used to people cowering in fear, begging, maybe a bit of swearing, but never the calm, almost disinterested manner that the boy was showing. A frown appeared on the woman's pretty face, but it quickly vanished as she recomposed herself and took a step forward, two long bladed knives appearing in her hands. Twirling them with a lazy grace, the woman took another two steps.

'Knives,' Hex said. 'Clever. No noise, but you'll have to get near us first.'

The woman hissed in annoyance and, with a flick so fast it seemed like her wrist had barely moved, one of the knives twirled out of the woman's hand, flicked a centimetre to the right of Hex and buried itself in a plastic drum half a dozen metres behind Alpha Force. Amber gave a shriek, but Hex didn't even flinch.

'Ah,' he added, still gazing serenely at the woman sent to kill him and his friends. 'Or you could throw the knife.'

'Shut it,' growled the woman, losing her patience as she slipped another knife out of the sheath on her hip. Alex noticed the sheath for the first time and realised that the woman must have put it on when she disappeared in Regent's Park.

'So,' Hex continued, 'what'll it be? Throwing or stabbing?'

'Hex!' snapped Paulo. He lowered his voice so only his friends could hear. 'You are making an already dangerous situation even worse. What are you trying to do?'

Hex smiled. 'Dazzle her with my charms,' he quipped, making Amber scoff. 'I heard that,' he said pointedly, looking at Amber.

The woman hesitated, knives hanging from her hands. What was going on? These four teenagers were laughing and joking, almost as if they had forgotten that she was even there. Even though she had weapons, she felt like she wasn't in control, a fact that bothered her greatly.

It was time to take that control back.

Her training had taught her to find weaknesses and exploit them. In this case, it would work to her advantage to use the tall, dark skinned girl. The others should cooperate better, once they saw her in danger.

The woman gestured so slightly with her head that Alpha Force didn't even register that she had moved. Suddenly, Amber gave a gasp. Hex, Alex and Paulo whirled towards her and took a step back in shock.

'Surprise!' chirped a second woman. She was holding Amber against her, one hand pressing a knife to Amber's throat. The woman gave a bell-like laugh. 'Don't look so shocked to see me. We always hunt in pairs.'

Hex's eyes narrowed. He was angry, worried and confused. Angry because they were partially at fault for getting into this situation. Worried because Amber had a knife jammed against her throat. Confused because he had no idea why they were being targeted. And what had the second woman meant when she said, "We always hunt in pairs"?

Looking at the calm efficiency that the two women were displaying as they backed them into a corner made it click. These women were assassins, sent out to find Alpha Force. And kill them.


	5. Seen Lions Hunting?

**A/N The first part of this chapter is set straight after the last, so we are still one week before the events in chapter one. After the second ruler mark, events are happening immediately after the events in chapter one. **

Amber felt the edge of the knife dig into her neck. Standing just three metres in front of her, Alex, Paulo and Hex watched as a thin trickle of blood dribbled down Amber's neck and soak into the collar of her yellow t-shirt. Hex growled and took a step forward, but stopped when he saw the look on Amber's face.

'Don't,' she mouthed.

The woman who was holding onto Amber smirked and turned slightly. Alex's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of a black mark on the side of the woman's neck: a black, shadowy figure with a pair of wings extended out behind. An angel. Who were these two women? Alex knew that Alpha Force was being targeted for their work over the past few years, but what he wasn't sure about was whether this had anything to do Li's disappearance. Alex wasn't sure what he wanted to be true; if Li _had_ been targeted by this group, whoever they were, she'd most likely be dead. But if Li's unknown whereabouts _weren't _as a result of these women, then where was she?

'Running won't help you,' trilled the first woman. She was standing half a metre beside her colleague, twirling her two knives like they were batons. 'And you better not involve anyone else. You wouldn't want their deaths on your consciences, would you?'

'If you're going to kill us,' Hex hissed, 'why would you need to warn us about involving others? Corpses can't tell tales.'

The woman's smirk turned into a scowl. 'I will enjoy killing you. I'd do it right now, but I want you to watch this one' –she tilted her head in Amber's direction- 'die.'

Staying quiet, Paulo had been observing the unfolding events with an unreadable expression. Feigning his indifference, Paulo was actually trying to work a way out of their rather dire situation. _What would Li do?_ he thought. She'd taught Paulo several self defence moves, but he couldn't see how he'd be able to use them in this situation. Paulo looked sideway at his friends. Alex was nervous, his grey eyes darting between the two assassins. Hex was looking furious with his hands clenched in fists. Because the two boys were reacting to the situation the four of them were in, the assassins concentrated their attention on them, leaving Paulo virtually invisible. Using this to his advantage, Paulo began to slowly move towards the woman closest to him, the one who didn't have a hold of Amber. He was as close as he dared to get when she turned slightly to look at her colleague. That was when Paulo struck.

'Move!' he yelled as he aimed a kick at the assassin's knee. She yelped and buckled, dropping her knives as she instinctively clutched at the injured joint. Alex surged forward, snatching the knives up and chucking one to Paulo as Hex moved to help Amber. The tall black American girl needed no help however.

Seeing her partner injured, the second assassin faltered, loosening her grip on Amber and letting the knife drop away from her neck. Amber drove her elbow backwards, slamming it into her captors stomach before spinning out of her grasp and plucking the knife from her unresisting fingertips. The women lay whimpering on the ground as Alpha Force sprinted for safety, not realising they had just subjected themselves to a far worse fate.

* * *

Greg breathed deeply and forced himself to stay seated. The two young women opposite him were two of his newest recruits and he shouldn't have expected anything less than a failure for their first mission. But it was still infuriating. Greg knew it was partly his fault. He'd made two of the worst mistakes possible: he'd underestimated the target and he'd used rookies. Twenty-six years in this business and he'd still stuffed up. Then again, no one was perfect.

Taneisha and Chelsea stared at the floor, unwilling to meet their boss' eyes.

'We are _so _sorry, sir,' Taneisha whispered. She moved her leg slightly and had to bite her lip to stop the shriek of pain escaping. The Latino kid had kicked her knee _hard._

Greg leaned back in his chair and unfolded his hands. 'No, no. It's partly my fault. You weren't ready.' Talking almost to himself he added, 'These are some kids.'

'What do you want us to do now, sir?' Chelsea asked.

Standing up and motioning for his employees to do the same, Greg said, 'Esther has seen you, yes? Then go to your rooms and rest. No training until you're fit and well and no missions until you've had more training. Understood?'

The two women nodded, making their slow way t the door.

'Thank you, sir,' they said in unison just before they left.

Greg didn't answer. He smiled. This was perfect. What a better way to try the newest girl.

* * *

'So how do we approach this?' Li asked, her chilled hands wrapped firmly around a mug of hot chocolate.

Sparks took a sip of his coffee before answering: 'Have you ever seen lions hunting?'

Li frowned, a small part of her brain registering a related but now forgotten memory. 'I don't know. Does it matter if I have or not?'

'No. But sometimes the lionesses use a flush and grab method to catch their prey. Some of them will go behind the prey and show themselves. This scares the animals into running in the opposite direction-'

'Where the other lionesses are waiting,' Li finished. 'So we're using that?'

Nodding, Sparks lowered his voice and said, 'Outright following and containment didn't work, but then again Taneisha and Chelsea aren't the best employees. They're very green.'

Draining the last of her hot chocolate, Lu stood up. 'What are we waiting for?'

* * *

'Finally.' Sparks shifted position, shrinking further back into the shadows, and grabbed his mobile, dialling Li's number without taking his eyes off the building across the road.

'Got 'em?' Li said as soon as she picked up.

'Yep. I'll wait for a bit then start to move them towards you. They're a bit fidgety, nervous and such, but calm enough to wander about outside. Good luck. Remember, I'll be around so holler if you need help, but I know you can do it.'

'I'll enjoy,' Li agreed. She hung up and Sparks pocketed the phone. Time to hunt.

* * *

'Relax. Reeeeeeeelaaaaaaaaax.' Amber closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Opening her eyes, three faces stared back at her with varying degrees of amusement.

'You sound like a whale,' Hex commented.

Amber slapped his arm. 'Didn't know you were fluent in that dialect.'

Raising his eyebrows, Hex said, 'Well now you know. Humpback, orca, blue... Oh, and I can say a few phrases in minke. _How is the krill today? Which way is the nearest current? _Stuff like that.'

'Anyone ever tell you that your humour sucks?' drawled Amber.

Hex tilted his head to one side, pretending to consider the question. 'Um...'

'Can we get going?' Paulo interrupted. 'I keep feeling like someone's watching us.' His eyes darted about, trying to find a hidden threat and failing.

Amber shrugged and started walking again, glancing nervously about despite her feigned nonchalance. 'It's been a week. Surely they would have tried again already. Maybe we should just go to the police.'

'No,' Alex said quickly. 'We involve the police then we make this personal.'

Hex snorted in disbelief. 'Alex, they're assassins who want to kill us. How can that not already be personal?'

'They won't stop at us. They'll kill us, every police officer involved, our families, any innocent civilian who happens to witness anything...' Alex trailed off, chewing his lip. 'Yes, they might have Li, but- and I know how bad this sounds- they're assassins or part of an assassin group. If they got to Li, there is almost no chance whatsoever that she is still alive. Especially since she disappeared a month ago.'

The four friends continued walking in silence, each so caught up in their own thoughts that they failed to notice Sparks trailing after them. Sparks decided it was time to shift their focus.

As he walked past a rubbish bin, Sparks tapped the side of it with his foot. The empty bin made a hollow booming sound and his four targets tensed up, moving faster automatically. Alex turned his head slightly and saw Sparks out of the corner of his eye. Dressed in black, the tall, heavily-built young man had a sinister look about him. Sparks caught Alex's glance, grinned and said, 'I'd run if I were you.'

That sentence was like a starter's gun. Sparks switched smoothly into a steady jog, as did Alpha Force. Sparks matched the teenagers' pace, moving them towards the warehouses were Taneisha and Chelsea had cornered them the previous week.

By the time they realised what was happening, it was too late.

'Stop!' gasped Paulo, jerking to such a sudden stop that Hex, running almost staright behind him, crashed into him.

'What?' Hex righted himself and stared around in horror, understanding what Paulo was thinking. 'Oh, heck.'

Sparks had disappeared for good this time, but there was a second figure was flitting about, pressing them deeper into the warehouses. Unable to fight back, unable to slip past, unable to even see their attackers, Alpha Force were helpless, herded without mercy into an almost empty warehouse. One wall was half obscured by crates, packed half up to the roof, all along the wall's length and several metres out.

A shadow flickered near the top left corner of the crate stack and four heads turned in that direction, four pairs of eyes seeking answers. The shadow turned more substantial and a familiar voice floated down: 'I hope none of you believe in second chances because that is one thing you won't be getting.'

Paulo's eyes widened as the figure stepped out of the shadows and into a beam of late afternoon sunlight. Long, straight black hair framed a pale face; eyes glared out, eyeing her targets with hatred and expectance. 'Li?'


	6. Help

Li faltered, a flash of recognition crossing her face before the hard look returned and she continued her descent, reaching the bottom of the crate pile in seconds. She landed lightly on the floor and faced her targets. The looks of relief and happiness on Alex, Hex, Paulo and Amber's faces had turned to expressions of confusion.

With a heavy heart, Alex moved his gaze from Li's face to her neck. Sure enough, there it was; a black angel.

'She's going to kill us,' Alex announced flatly, his voice devoid of emotion.

'What?' Three heads turned in his direction.

'She'd going to kill us.' Alex pointed at Li's neck. 'The two women who tried to kill us last week had the same mark. Li's an assassin.'

Li's forehead creased. Her jaw clenched and her breathing cam quick and shallow.

'Li?' Paulo went to step forward but Hex's hand on his arm stopped him. Looking at Hex's pained expression, Paulo understood what his friend was trying to say: _It might be a trick. We can't trust her_.

Feeling as though he'd just been stabbed in the heart, Paulo stepped back, his eyes never leaving Li. She staggered and fell to her knees, gasping for breath. What was happening to her? Flashes of memories played through her head but they were a jumbled mess, none making any sense, none totally complete.

Groaning with effort, Li raised her head and, with sad, begging eyes, looked at the four people she was meant to kill. What was it about them that made the banished memories return, although in pieces?

'Go,' she whispered. Raising her voice slightly, Li hissed, 'Leave now. It's not safe.' The hiss turned into a whimper as she crashed to the ground. 'Get help. Help me.'

Hex and Alex were the first to turn away while Amber and Paulo's gaze lingered on the petite girl.

'Come on,' Hex said softly, taking hold of Paulo's arm. 'We have to go.'

Once they were out of the warehouse, Alpha Force broke into a jog and then a sprint. Without really knowing where they were going, the four friends ran, just wanting to put as much distance as possible between them and the warehouse.

Among people once again, they slowed down, moving to the side of the pavement.

'That was...weird.' Hex ran a hand through his spiky brown hair.

Paulo started pacing. 'That wasn't Li.'

'So who was she then? Li's evil identical twin that we've only just found out about?' Amber snapped. She leaned against the fence behind her, suddenly feeling very weak.

'No, I mean... How do I explain it?'

'I know what you're getting at, Paulo.' Hex said. 'Anyone want to hear my theory?'

'Whether we want to hear it or not, you're going to say it. Go ahead,' Amber sighed.

'Ok. One month ago, the assassin group that Li is now a part of were given an assignment: to kill the five of us. Through watching our houses, they realised Li was going to be the first without company. They go in to kill her and when she fights back they realise how much talent she has, talent that they could use to their advantage. When they get a hold of her, instead of killing her they take her back to wherever their base is. Li's brainwashed and trained to become an assassin.

'Now, the assassin group still has four problems- us- to deal with, but the opportunity to kill us one by one, quietly, has passed because we find out about Li's disappearance and all come together.' Hex paused, leaving a chance for someone else to take up the explanation.

'So they cut their losses and go for all of us at once- the first attack- but that doesn't work,' Alex added.

'When that failed, they decided to make it _really_ personal and send in Li,' Amber spat out. 'That's it. They're going down.'

Paulo's head snapped up. 'We're going to the police.'

His friends nodded their agreement. 'Exactly what we were thinking.'

* * *

'Hang on.' Sergeant Lester's eyes narrowed and he dropped his pen on the desk. 'Did you say angel?'

'Yeah,' Alex confirmed. 'The silhouette of an angel. Li had it on her neck and so did the other two women.'

'Damn it,' Lester growled.

Amber frowned. 'What is it?' she demanded. 'Do you know who's behind this?'

Lester chewed his lip and debated whether to tell the four teenagers what he knew. But if what they had said was true then their friend was in serious danger, not to mention the risk to themselves.

'Ok.' Lester sat back down again. 'The black angel is a marking worn by members of _the Angel Squad_. They're an all female assassin group specialising in knife combat and martial arts.'

_The Angel Squad_. Hex unzipped his belt pouch and pulled out the small piece of paper that he'd put in there three weeks earlier.

'She knew,' he whispered.

Everyone turned towards Hex.

'_Angels_.' Looking around at his friends and Lester, Hex said, 'Li knew.'

Paulo shook his head, confused. 'But if she knew who they were and what they were going to do, why didn't she tell anyone?'

* * *

Lester pushed open the door to Li's bedroom and strode through, closely followed by Alpha Force. He crouched by Li's bedside table and pulled out the top drawer, starting to sort through the contents. Hex and Paulo lifted the bed and moved it out of the way while Amber conducted a more thorough search of the bookshelves and Alex rummaged around in the wardrobe.

'If you don't mind me asking,' Lester said, 'what would an assassin group want with a bunch of teenagers? You lot haven't made some enemies, have you?'

There was a slight pause before Amber answered: 'We might have accidentally stopped some bad guys during last holiday break.'

'Ah.' Lester seemed satisfied with that answer and Amber, Alex, Hex and Paulo shared a relieved look before turning back to their tasks.

Hex was peering closely at the floorboards where the bed had been. There, the third board along. Something about it wasn't right.

Amber saw Hex kneel on the floor next to a floorboard and immediately stopped looking through the books. 'Hex has found something,' she announced, heading towards the Londoner.

As Lester, Paulo and Alex joined him, Hex pulled a screwdriver from the tiny toolkit on his belt and carefully prised the floorboard up. Once it was free, Hex reached down and pulled out a piece of paper:

_Hey guys!_

_I knew you'd find this letter; see, that's how much faith I have in your abilities. If you're reading this then I was right, I wasn't being paranoid._

_Mum and Dad left early this morning and that was when I noticed them. How long they'd been watching the house for I had no idea but they were getting bolder now; dressed in black with a black angel tattooed on their necks. _

_Seeing those two women, my brain kicked into gear. My first thought- make that my _only_ thought- was assassins. I mean, come on guys, I doubt we're very popular in the criminal friendship circle after what we've done the past couple of years. I knew I'd seen or heard something, years ago, about an assassin group that had angels on their necks. After an extensive internet search- could have done with your expertise, Hex! -I came up with _theAngel Squad. _They'd been operating in south-east Asia and it was thought they'd moved into Ireland, but there was no inkling that they'd branched into England as well. Let's just say they were so completely wrong._

_I wanted to phone you all, to tell you to watch your backs, but then I remembered the break-in._

_A few weeks ago we came home and found the window smashed and the back door unlocked. Nothing was taken apart from my mobile, which I still haven't replaced yet, but what if the phone had been bugged? I still wasn't sure if it was just me at the moment or not and, if it was the former, I'd be risking all of your lives by ringing you._

_I'm going to try and get out of here, lie low somewhere for a while and then contact the police, but I have no idea if that's going to be possible. _

_Please, guys. I'm begging you. Keep safe and don't do anything stupid. Go straight to the police, tell them everything, show them this letter- but whiteout anything I shouldn't have written- and stick together._

_I love you guys so much and I don't ever want any of you to forget that. Be sensible or else. _

_Li._

'She was protecting us,' sniffed Amber, dabbing at her eyes with the corner of her sleeve.

Paulo was muttering something in Spanish and, from the look on his face, Alex was glad he couldn't understand what was being said.

Lester hadn't read the letter and was standing quietly a little way away from the four friends.

'Come on. We'll get you into a safe house, warn your families and stat trying to track down the people responsible.' He smiled reassuringly. 'Don't worry; we'll find Li and make _the Angel Squad_ pay for this. Trust me.'


	7. Not So Safe

Lying on her back, staring at the ceiling, Li tried to make sense of the past day. What had happened back at that warehouse? Why had she reacted the way she did? Li groaned and pressed her palms to her forehead as another wave of pain blossomed behind her eyes. Of all the times to get the world's worst headache...

The creak of the door to her room made Li sit up, one hand still held firmly against her head. Esther smiled sympathetically and edged into the room, black medical bag dangling from one hand.

'How're you feeling?' Esther whispered, closing the door almost all the way behind her.

'Like a gremlin wearing high heels is tap-dancing on my brain,' Li groaned, lying back down again.

Esther chuckled. 'Aspirin should fix that.' She pulled a packet of painkillers out of her bag and popped two of the small, white tablets from the packet, handing them to Li along with a bottle of water. 'Down the hatch.'

Putting the tablets on her tongue, Li took a big mouthful of water and swallowed. Passing the bottle back to Esther, Li sighed in relief. The tablets were already starting to work. 'Thanks,' Li tried to say, but she found the words wouldn't come. Her jaw flopped open and shut like a baby bird begging for food, but she couldn't make a sound. Panic gripped Li and her arms flailed by her sides. Esther's face dipped in and out of focus as the sedatives began to take affect. Her headache became a distant memory as Li lost consciousness and her world turned black.

* * *

Paulo paused at the head of the stairs. Voices could be heard from behind one of the bedroom doors, right beside him.

'...and that's the only lead we have?' Paulo immediately recognised Sergeant Lester's quiet voice.

'Yeah. Not even a real lead.' The second voice was unfamiliar to Paulo, though he assumed that they were a police officer of some sort.

Lester was quiet for a moment before saying, 'Nothing we can do about it. We'll just have to keep looking. I want every angle considered, no stone left unturned.'

Paulo gulped and dove into the bathroom as the door started to open. Lester and a tall man emerged from the room. As Lester headed quickly down the stairs, the man paused for a moment, looking in his bag with feigned interest. Paulo's eyes narrowed as he peered through the small crack made by the not completely closed door. The man craned his neck, looking down the staircase to see if Lester was out of sight before he fished a mobile phone out of his pocket, dialled a number and pressed the phone to his ear. It was answered almost immediately.

'It's all sorted. This time tomorrow, everything will be done and dusted,' the man hissed down the phone line. He paused for a moment, as though listening to the answer. 'No, no. Lester's thick as a brick. He doesn't suspect a thing. The rats will be having a small accident later tonight and then it'll all be finished. Kill the girl; she stuffed up once and she'll stuff up again.' The man ended the call and pocketed the phone, snapping his bag shut as he trotted down the stairs.

After waiting until he was certain the man was gone, Paulo slipped out of the bathroom and moved to the staircase. There was no sign or either the man or Lester, although the man's black bag was sitting beside the door. Paulo took the stairs at a calm, unhurried pace, although inside he was fuming.

Reaching the foot of the stairs, Paulo moved forward, his eyes darting left and right. Where had the man gone? There was the clink of cups from the direction of the kitchen and Paulo froze.

Lester's voice wafted towards him. 'Surely you have time for a coffee, Stuart. I have to go over some details with you about that other case as well.'

Stuart sounded resigned as he said, 'Oh, ok. But five minutes only. I have something I need to do.'

Paulo couldn't believe his good luck. Tiptoeing forwards, he reached the discarded bag and delved inside it, pulling papers out. Two minutes went by and he still hadn't found anything that he thought might have been connected. On the verge of giving up and heading back upstairs, Paulo realised something.

'Idiot,' he muttered, pushing the papers back into the bag. Wedging his hand down between the mess of papers and the edge of the bag, Paulo's fingertips brushed against a small flap in the material. If you had documents that you didn't want to be found, why would you simply stick them in you bag?

There was a wad of papers in the compartment. Paulo pulled them all out and skim-read them. The sounds of Lester and Stuart in the kitchen reminded Paulo of his deadline and he debated about whether to keep the papers or not. Deciding he could rely on his memory, Paulo stuffed the papers back in the bag, resealed the compartment, clipped the bag shut and darted for the stairs. He made it to the top just as Stuart emerged from the kitchen. Lying flat on the floor at the top of the stairs, Paulo watched with his heart in his mouth as Stuart paused, halfway to picking up his bag. Paulo's breathing quickened. Had he forgotten something? Was that a bit of paper poking out of the top of the bag?

'Oh, I almost forgot.' Stuart picked up his bag and turned towards the kitchen again. 'I'll send two people down to look after the kids tonight so you can have some time off.'

'Really? I don't mind, but if it's all been organised...'

'It's been organised,' Stuart replied firmly. He opened the door, flashed a tight smile in Lester's direction and left.

Paulo wriggled along the floor on his belly until he was out of sight if Lester happened to look up the stairs. Clambering to his feet, Paulo hurried down the rest of the hallway to Amber's room. The beautiful black American was sitting in the middle of her bedroom, a frown creasing her forehead and hundreds of jigsaw pieces littered about her. She looked up as Paulo shoved the door open and fell inside.

'Graceful,' she sniffed, completely missing the look of urgency on his face. 'You any good at jigsaws? Hex bet me I couldn't finish this one and there is no _way_ I'm losing to-' Her frown got deeper. 'You ok?'

Paulo shook his head, then changed his mind and nodded. 'Doesn't matter,' he panted. 'Where's Hex and Alex?'

'Hex is in the office with his computer thing- big surprise- and Alex was in your room.' Amber started to stand up. 'Why do you want to know?'

But Paulo was already on his way out the door. 'Get Hex and meet back in here. Be quick but don't look too suspicious.' He tore out of the room, leaving a confused Amber behind.

* * *

Wearily, Li forced her eyes open. Her mouth felt like sandpaper and her lips were cracked and dry. It took her several attempts before she could sit up, an act she instantly regretted when her vision swam and bile rose in her throat.

'Sleeping beauty awakes.'

Li jumped. The voice had come from somewhere above her head. It sounded gravely, metallic.

'Where am I?' Li managed to force out, the words grating on her parched throat.

'Things will be explained later. But for now rest.'

'Why do you want me to rest?' Li demanded. 'What's going on?'

There was a sigh. 'So many questions. Just do as I say and sleep. You'll need all your energy later on.'

'What's happening later on?' Li's head was turning wildly about, trying to find where the source of the voice was.

'Rest,' the voice said soothingly. 'Rest now because later' –there was chuckle- 'the games begin.'


	8. Memories

**A/N Just like to give credit to **_**The Writer's Almanac **_**and **_**Hurricane Gold **_**for the inspiration needed for this fic's ending. Last chapter, this chapter and the two chapters after this one would never have happened had those two books not given me some ideas. Please note that the text in italics are Li's flashbacks. As I didn't have any of the Alpha Force books handy, thanks to be-nice-to-nerds profile page for providing some quotes. **

Amber slung her backpack onto her back and gave Hex a tight smile.

'Shinning down drainpipes strikes me as more of a Li activity,' she whispered, pushing the window open. 'Are you sure it'll hold us?'

Hex gestured to the window. 'If it doesn't then we'll get to the bottom quicker, won't we.'

'There's paving below the drainpipe, Hex,' Amber hissed. 'We'll be getting an express ticket to the hospital.'

Sighing, Hex picked up his own bag and pushed past Amber. 'Will you quit whingeing? I'll go first, then. If it holds me, it'll hold you.'

As Hex swung out the window and grasped the pipe, Paulo and Alex entered the room carrying a further two backpacks.

'Aren't you out yet?' Alex whispered. Not waiting for an answer, he moved towards the window and climbed out after Hex, sliding down the drainpipe as quickly as possible.

Amber regarded the pipe with distaste. Rolling his eyes, Paulo followed Hex and Alex's lead, moving past Amber and making his way down the drainpipe. Amber sighed, shouldered her pack and climbed out the window.

* * *

Li groaned as her eyelids fluttered open and bright fluorescent light burnt her retinas. Her headache was worse and for a moment Li wondered why. She'd taken Aspirin, hadn't she?

Sitting up, Li looked around at her surroundings and suddenly she remembered. Her eyes narrowed as she recalled blacking out straight after she'd swallowed the tablets Esther gave her. Why had she been drugged? Where was she now?

'Hello?' Li called, her voice husky. Clearing her throat, Li tried again. 'Hello?'

No one answered, but a red light set above the door gave a _ping_ and turned on. Shivering, Li drew her knees up to her chest and shuffled backwards along the bunk until she was pressed into the corner. Another flash of pain rippled through her head and Li gasped, screwing her eyes up.

_'Junkie hacker. Can't you cope with real life?'_

_'Not when you're in it.'_

Opening her eyes, Li shook her head furiously. Things just kept getting better and better; drugged and locked up and now she was hearing voices. Voices that were painfully familiar. Another bout of pain made tears come to her eyes.

_'What am I, a baby?'_

Another voice, different to the first two but still familiar.

_'Ladies and gentlemen, I am now qualified to blow holes in things.'_

The fourth voice came with an image. A very fuzzy one, but still a picture. Trees- a forest or jungle- and five people, with a sixth person laying down a little way from the main group. Slowly, ever so slowly, Li's brain made the connections. Bit by bit, piece by piece, her memory started to repair itself. As more and more voices and images flickered in and out of Li's mind, she gave into the pain and blacked out once again.

* * *

'So we're going to Stonehenge because...' Amber pulled her beanie down more firmly on her head and looked at Paulo.

'Because that's where they have Li,' Paulo said. 'Now, can you be quiet and let me drive? I'm trying to be inconspicuous here.'

Amber leaned back in her seat and stared out at the countryside flashing by. Despite Paulo's request for her to not speak, Amber had to ask, 'Why Stonehenge? And how do you know this?'

His attention focused on the dark road ahead, Paulo breathed deeply and didn't answer.

'Paulo,' Amber whined.

'The papers in the guy's- Stuart or whatever- bag. I don't know why the base is at Stonehenge. Now, can you be quiet and let me drive?' Paulo snapped.

Satisfied, Amber nodded and leant back in her seat. A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. 'Are we there yet?'

* * *

While she had been unconscious, Li's memories had trickled back, fitting neatly together like a jigsaw. When her eyes fluttered open once again, her first thought was for her friends. Had they got her message? She hoped so, because if they hadn't they were in serious danger.

Swinging her legs around so they dangled over the edge of the bunk, Li eyed her quarters critically. There was the bunk she was sitting on, a threadbare rug on the floor and a dented chair. Nothing else. Nothing even halfway to being useful in aiding her escape.

Li slide off the bed and landed lightly on the ground. She planted her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. A challenge. She had nothing better to do.

The floor under the bunk bed was clean, not even a stray dust bunny to be found. Li stood up and frowned. There had to be something. Her gaze drifted towards the door. Maybe...

Li crossed the room, pushed lightly on the door. It didn't budge. She leant harder against it. Still nothing. Just when she was about to take a run-up and attempt to kick open the door, Li realised something. Taking hold of the handle, Li pulled the door open. It stuck for a moment before swinging towards her with a squeal.

As she stepped out into the corridor, Li thought briefly about going back for a weapon. What weapon, though? The chair was too bulky and the rug was hardly fear-invoking. No. She was better off trying to get out from wherever she was unseen.

Li was now completely out of the room and in the hallway. The walls were white, blindingly white. Just as she was about to start heading to her left, a loud voice and a cheer made her turn to the right. What was going on up there?

_Curiosity killed the cat_. Li brushed the phrase out of her mind and walked quickly up the corridor. Another cheer made her increase her pace to a fast jog and soon she was sprinting, fear making her mouth dry. Just before she rounded the final corner, Li heard something that made her both happy and fearful. With part of her wishing she was right and part of her hoping she was completely wrong, Li peered around the wall, not knowing what she was about to see.

* * *

The car jolted to a halt. Paulo flicked the headlights off and the car and its occupants were immediately plunged into absolute darkness. Alex started to ask Paulo why he'd stopped, but a pair of torch beams up ahead made him hurriedly shut his mouth.

The four friends watched as the beams got closer and closer. When the people who were obviously holding the torches were about thirty metres away, Hex wondered why he, Amber, Alex and Paulo weren't running away. He was about to voice his suggestion when there was a shout and fifty more beams of light appeared, all focused on the car, illuminating the scene.

Blinded by the sudden light, they could barely see the ten women who opened the car doors and pulled them out. Handcuffed and jerked to their feet, Alpha Force tried to make sense of what was happening. They'd told no one of their plans, so who were the welcoming party? Had Stuart realised what had happened and rushed down here to intercept them? Was it Lester, worried they were going to try something stupid? But why had they waited until they were a mere forty metres or so from Stonehenge?

Alex's eyes widened as he realised who the women were. Somehow, the Angel Squad had known they were coming. Without intending to, Alpha Force had just made the assassins' task a whole lot simpler.


	9. Plotting

**A/N Just about ready to wrap this fic up. One more chapter after this one, though it should be a bit longer. I did lose enthusiasm for this fic which is why updates have been soooooooooooo slow, but the enthusiasm is back in full force now. I'm back at school now and will most likely have to spend all of this upcoming weekend on a school project, however I really want to write the next chapter so expect a fairly fast update still the same. Sorry to the fabulously talented Charlie Higson, for stealing his idea, but it was so great and perfect I just had to use it. I have modified it a tad, but it's essentially the same. You probably won't know what I'm raving about until next chapter unless you've read Hurricane Gold, but still. So, enjoy the second last chapter of The Assassin's Touch!**

'Please, put your hands together for this evening's entertainment... the Dimwits!' Helena, a stocky young woman with a thick Texan accent, started the applause off, stepping back so that the assembled crowd could all get a proper look at "the Dimwits". Alex, Paulo, Amber and Hex scowled from their cage suspended a metre above the stage.

'You know that getting enjoyment out of watching other people suffer is considered a severe character flaw, right?' Hex drawled.

Now it was Helena's turn to scowl. 'Shut ya trap, know-it-all.' Satisfied that Hex was going to stay silent, Helena's genuine, albeit sadistic, smile returned and she turned back to the audience. 'You all know who they are, you all know what they've done, you all get to chose what their fate will be!'

A loud cheer went up as Helena finished. There was more clapping and feet stamping as the crowd got more and more excited.

Amber rolled her eyes. 'Geez. Grown women getting excited because they get to decide how a bunch of teenagers will be punished. They need to get out more.'

By now everyone in the audience was standing up and the noise had risen to an almost intolerable level. Even through all the chaos, the shriek of alarm that suddenly echoed around the building could still be heard.

'Stop her!'

Alpha Force craned their necks in the direction of the shriek just in time to see Li race into the auditorium. She slid to a stop, her eyes darting from left to right. Catching sight of the cage with her four friends in it, Li hesitated, her feet staying planted but the top half of her body starting to turn in their direction. Before she could move, Greg leapt towards her, tackling her around the waist and pushing her to the ground.

'Stay there,' he snapped. Although she couldn't see one, Li knew that her former boss would have at least one gun and most likely a knife or two on his person, so she lay meekly on the floor while he handcuffed her.

'Up,' Greg growled, jerking on Li's long, black hair. She bit her lip and stood up as quickly as she could. Out of the corner of her eye, Li saw her four friends watching her curiously.

'Li?' Paulo called hesitantly.

Li gave a small smile. 'Hey guys. How's it going?'

Amber, Alex, Paulo and Hex smiled back in relief.

'Not too bad,' Alex said. 'Apart from, you know, being hunted down, almost killed a few times and then locked in a cage. Good to have you back by the way.'

'Good to be back.'

Greg's face had turned beetroot red. 'Enough of the chitchat. They'll be plenty of time for that in the maze.'

'What?' Helena's expression was sour. 'You said we could vote.'

'Changed my mind,' Greg said. 'Now, if we could just-'

'The maze,' Helena interrupted, her voice ringing in contempt. 'The _maze_?'

Greg rounded on her, eyes reduced to sits. 'Yes, Helena. The maze. Got a problem with that?'

'It's boring, isn't it?' She looked to the crowd for support and they all murmured their agreement. 'You always use the stupid thing. It's no fun 'cause you know even before they start that they ain't gonna make it through. What's the point?'

Alpha Force, five strong once more, were feeling understandably nervous with all the talk about the mysterious and apparently unescapable maze. Although she was obnoxious and was getting kicks out of planning their demise, Alpha Force couldn't help but hope that Helena would win the argument.

'Instead of the maze, we could hang, draw and quarter them. Yeah! Or we could burn them alive! We haven't done that for _ages_.'

Or maybe not. Caught between a rock and an incredibly hard place, Alpha Force sat back and watched the two assassins argue, not really sure who they were siding with now.

Greg scoffed. 'Hang, draw and quarter them? Burn them alive? What are you on? Get with the times, Helena. This isn't the middle ages. The maze is sophisticated, more enjoyable to watch and a bit of a challenge for our super teens.'

'I still think we-'

'Enough,' barked Greg. 'I outrank you, therefore they're going into the maze. End of story.'

From their lofty position, Amber, Paulo, Hex and Alex peered down at the assassins and then exchanged worried looks. Li, attached to a pole a few feet away by a short length of change, couldn't help her curiosity.

'So...' she said casually. 'What does this maze contain?'

Greg's eyebrows knitted together in a disapproving frown, while Helena's rose up until they were hidden by her fringe.

'It'll be a surprise,' Greg said finally, his eyebrows returning to their normal position. 'But trust me' –he gave a grin- 'you'll have fun.'

* * *

Alpha Force stood together in a little box, staring out the room in front of them. The walls stretched a good six metres in the air, although there was no roof, allowing the Angel Squad to peer down and watch the teenagers' progress.

'Get on with it!' several voices called.

Choosing to ignore the demand, Alpha Force continued to stare out at the first part of the maze. It looked anything but dangerous: bare floor all the way to the end where the floor suddenly dropped away out of sight. Although it looked straightforward, Alpha Force knew that it wouldn't be. Some hidden danger was sure to be waiting for them.

Li turned to her friends. 'Sorry guys,' she said. As four pairs of eyes stared at her in disbelief, Li continued. 'I got us into this mess. I tried to kill you. I didn't warn you in time.'

Although she'd put the events in the wrong order, her friends knew what she was getting at.

'Oh, Li,' Amber said, putting an arm around the petite girl's shoulders. 'None of this is your fault. None of this is any of our fault. We've made some enemies through being good people and they decided to get back at us. Why should we be punished for trying to make a difference? They're all to blame because they put other, unfortunate people into terrible situations and then sit back and reap the rewards. They don't care, they don't think of anyone but themselves. It's their fault, not ours.'

Sniffing, Li gave each of her friends a tight hug. 'I've missed you guys.'

'Get _on_ with it.' Greg's irritated voice crackled through a megaphone.

Alpha Force shared a determined look, stood in a line and moved confidently forwards, ready for whatever the maze was going to throw at them.


	10. The Maze: Part One

**A/N Hey everybody! This chapter is actually the second last one now as it turned out much longer than I anticipated. The second half of the maze- the last chapter- should be up shortly. I tried and failed to write this in third person. Don't know if it's because I'm a bit out of practise or what, but my third person version sucked, although I'm not even that happy with this one either. So it's in first person, switching back and forth from each character's POV. Hopefully this will allow you to get a real feel for what the maze is like and what they go through on their journey through it and it won't be annoying.**

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ALEX'S POV

As soon as we left the little room, a huge door shut behind us, locking with a loud _clang_. Ok. So no going back now. We'd either make it out of the maze alive, or die trying. Cheerful stuff.

I looked sideways, down the line, checking the reactions on my friends' faces. Li, bouncing on the balls of her feet, kept switching from excited to scared and back again. It was quite unnerving. Paulo was relaxed...ish. He had a tiny, nervous twitch but apart from that he could have been going for a stroll in the park. Amber actually looked really peeved, like she couldn't quite believe what we were being forced to do. Hex was, well, Hex. No expression, no movement, nothing. After the other three's odd, at times misplaced, reactions, it was kind of calming to see Hex's poker face.

Amber's voice dragged me from my thoughts.

'Ah... Question. Really quick. Just a little query.' She looked from Hex to Paulo, Li and finally me, then down at her feet. We followed her gaze.

'What?' Li asked.

As one, we lifted our eyes back to Amber's face.

'Does anyone else think the ground is getting hotter?'

There was a two second pause as we digested this new information before we agreed that, yes, the ground was getting hotter and wouldn't it be a great idea to start moving?

And move we did, until about halfway across, when the floor was really starting to get unbearable. Paulo, perhaps going a bit too fast, tripped and fell, his hands automatically shooting out to break his fall.

Big mistake.

Our feet were sweating, even though they had the protection of good quality boots, but Paulo's hands were bare skin. He yelped as his palms came in contact with the floor. Li and Amber, one on either side, grabbed him under the arms and yanked him to his feet, without a break in their stride. Wincing, Paulo kept moving, cradling his hands to his chest. Just a few seconds in contact with the floor and they were red and blistering.

Reaching the end of the first section, we breathed a collective sigh of relief. Water. We dropped down and landed with a splash. Paulo immediately dropped his hands into the water, his face loosing a bit of its pinched look as the cool water washed over his hands. Our relief was momentary though. Lurking in the water was our next challenge.

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PAULO'S POV

As I popped my hands under the water, my imagination conjured up a puff of steam. The water was so cool, so refreshing. Waist deep, I kept my hands submerged and swished them around. I was still marvelling at how much better they felt when Amber shrieked.

'Leeches!' She was standing stock still, one hand gripping Hex's shoulder the other hand half under the water. Just visible was the thick, black leech, pulsating slightly as it fed.

'Go!' Alex shouted, stating to wade forward. His words were like a starter's pistol. We bolted forward, Amber still whimpering and shaking her hand. Beside me, Li lost her footing and went under. I stopped, fished about under the water, grabbed the back of her t-shirt and yanked her to the surface again.

'Thanks,' she gasped as we moved forward again, apparently unaware of the leech attached to the side of her neck.

'Anytime,' I answered. I avoided looking down, knowing that I had quite a few of the horrible little bloodsuckers attached to my arm.

The pool seemed so long; it was like we were walking on the spot. But finally we made it. Hex had got there first and had clambered up onto a ledge which obviously overlooked the next section. Alex reached the ledge and was pulled up by Hex. Together they lifted Amber up while I grabbed Li around her hips and pushed her up onto the ledge. Once I'd clambered up, we lay gasping. The leeches were, luckily, already dropping off, but they left red welts everywhere. Amber was ignoring Hex and pulling off the two that remained on her arm. We were so occupied with the leeches that we didn't even realise what our next obstacle was until Alex said, 'Holy crap.'

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AMBER'S POV

'Holy crap.'

I finally managed to pull the last leech off, flicked it back into the water with a shudder and looked at Alex. He was staring down into the pit next to our ledge. Hex shuffled forwards and looked as well.

'That's a bit different,' he murmured.

'What?' I asked, not really wanting to find out. Still, curiosity killed the very stupid cat.

'Check it out,' Hex said, sounding _way_ too impressed.

I sidled up next to him and almost fell into the pit. 'What the-?'

A thin- a _ridiculously _thin- piece of wood stretched across a huge pit. The gaping hole in the floor was deep and wide with black dirt covering its base. As I stared at the dirt, my eyes widened and I gasped.

'Did…did that dirt just _move_?' I managed to choke out.

By this stage, Paulo and Li had joined us in our horrorfest. We were all staring down at the floor, me still wondering why the dirt was moving. It was Paulo who solved the mystery.

'Amber,' he said slowly. 'I hate to break it to you, but that ain't dirt.'

'What is it then?' I asked, half wanting to know and half wanting to be kept in the dark.

There was a slight pause. 'I think they're scorpions.'

'S-scorpions?' I stammered, on the verge of hyperventilating. Leeches were bad enough, but at least they weren't poisonous.

Li suddenly appeared at my left elbow. 'It's ok,' she soothed, apparently not reading my mind. 'At least they're not leeches.'

I shuddered again, gulped and nodded, forcing my previous thoughts pout of my mind. Starting to calm down, I avoided looking at the pit and said, 'Ok. Who's first?'

Even though Li has the balance of a mountain goat wearing suction pad boots, she was still supremely brave to offer to go first. We didn't know if there was any hidden traps along the plank or what, so I gave her a hug and sat back, anxiously biting my lip.

'Well,' she said, her voice wobbling a bit. 'Here goes nothing.'

_On the contrary, Li_, I thought as she took her first step onto the plank. _Here goes everything_.

We watched with a mixture of awe and fear as Li nimbly crossed the plank. Halfway across, she was still going strong, without so much as a hint of being unbalanced. Stupidly, I voiced my observation out loud.

'Nothing tricky. Touch wood,' I added, tapping the top of Hex's head. He didn't look amused and opened his mouth, no doubt to say some demeaning back, when Li tumbled off the plank. Before any of us had a chance to cry out, she twisted her body and somehow managed to grab a hold of the beam with one hand and then grip it with her other hand as well.

'Li?' Paulo called. 'You ok?'

'Fine,' she answered, sounding breathless and shaken. 'Hex's head obviously isn't wooden. This section of the beam is round.'

I blinked. 'What? Did you say _round_?' Before she could answer, I scoffed. 'How did you _not_ notice that?'

'I wasn't focusing on the shape of the beam,' she replied hotly. 'It looked the same.'

'Hang on, hang on.' I still couldn't quite believe that she hadn't noticed the shape. 'Let me get this-'

Paulo cut me off with a sharp, 'Chill, Amber.'

Meanwhile, Li was swinging back and forth on the beam. 'It's ok,' she called. 'It'll actually be easier this way. Walk along the squared bit and then drop down and use your arms for this part.' She then proceeded to demonstrate how easy this was, making quick progress along the remainder of the beam and climbing out onto a ledge on the far side of the pit.

Paulo had been scrutinising the beam. 'I'll go next, if you want.'

We didn't answer and he took that as a yes, climbing onto the beam. Although he wasn't half as graceful and coordinated as Li, he did alright, with only a few really dicey moments before he reached the ledge and pulled himself up next to Li. Alex had started across when Paulo reached the round part and he quickly joined Li and Paulo.

'Right,' I said to Hex. 'Who's going next?'

He raised his eyebrows at me, tapped me on the head and answered, 'You.'

'Great,' I muttered. 'Thanks.'

The normal section of the beam passed by quickly and easily. I held my arms out straight and focused on staying balanced and moving with slow, measured, careful steps. So focused on keeping my balance, I completely missed the start of the rounded part.

'Gah!' I yelled as my feet slipped off the beam and I tumbled off the side. Everything started to go in slow motion. I heard my name being shouted and I could see my hands twisting through the air, trying to grab hold of the beam. Closing my eyes, I flung my hand up, pleading with some force to let me find and hold onto the beam.

Three of my fingers caught the bar and they were almost ripped out of their sockets. I howled with pain, then clenched my teeth and tried to ignore the burning sensation. God, it _hurt_.

'Come on, Amber,' I hissed to myself. 'Paulo did this, without whingeing, and his hands are a hundred times worse than your fingers are now. Come on.'

Somehow, I made it along that last section of beam. Every bit was absolute agony to top it all off, I ended up with piles of splinters in my hands. Halfway along the rounded part, I stopped for a quick breather, only have my legs gently kicked by someone behind me.

'Hurry up, slow poke,' Hex said. 'You're holding up the traffic.'

'Give me a minute.' My words sounded a bit slurred and my eyelids fluttered shut out for a split second before I came to with a, 'Woah!' What was wrong with me? Dangling from my arms above a scorpion pit with one of my best friends waiting patiently behind me was _not_ the best place to have a quick cat nap. _Come _on_, Amber. Pull yourself together_.

The rest of the beam was a blur and before I knew it I was being pulled up onto the ledge by Paulo. As he and Alex turned their attention to helping Hex up, I crawled as far away as I could and lay on my back, my eyes feeling heavy. Before they could shut, Li came and sat by my side.

'Amber?' she said.

'What?' I mumbled.

'Do you want me to get the splinters out of your hand?'

I winced, thought about it, then nodded. Who knew what other fun-stuffed challenges the maze had left for us and I'd need the full use of my hands. The memory of the three almost useless fingers on my right hand flicked into my mind, but I pushed it away.

Li borrowed the tweezers from Alex's kit and patiently picked all the bits of wood from my hands, ignoring my yelps. Once she was done, I sat up, feeling groggy and faced my friends. They were staring at something over my shoulder and I didn't want to turn around.

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HEX'S POV

Ok. The hot plates had been kind of clever. The leeches, unexpected. The scorpion pit was a nice touch. But this? Maybe they'd run out of ideas. Maybe they'd repeated the hot plate stunt. But I was doubted both very highly.

'You think this part is as empty as they make out?' Li said hesitantly.

I shrugged. 'Maybe. Only one way to find out.'

There was a collective groan as I said this. We were all tired, fed-up, scared and, in Amber and Paulo's cases, in pain. Our situation was far from ideal and I was severely ticked off, but what could we do apart from keep moving forward and hope for the best? A big fat lot of nothing.

'What if there are hidden obstacles?' Alex asked as we took one, two, three hesitant steps forward.

Four, five, six. 'Then we deal with them as they come.' Paulo still looked calm and collected, moving with a confident stride that we couldn't muster. 'Maybe this _is _empty. I mean, they can't-' He stopped talking, stopped moving and stood stock still.

'Paulo?' Li quavered. She went to take a step forward but stopped when Paulo backed towards us.

'This isn't empty,' he said, his gaze falling, like Amber's had when we first started the stupid maze, to the floor. More hot plates?

Amber gasped. 'What happened to your leg?!'

Looking at the mentioned limb, I couldn't help wincing. There was a long, deep cut stretching horizontally across Paulo's leg, mid-calf.

'There's razor wires strung across the room. We fall into them, we end up like butter that's been cut with a hot knife.'


	11. The Maze: Part Two

**A/N Last chapter. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed this story. I really appreciate the constant feedback, positive comments, constructive criticism, etc. It means a lot to me. ****The ending stumped me, so it sucks, but still. Couldn't think of ANYTHING else. **

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HEX'S POV

Clever. Razor wire. Sharp, yet near invisible. Was that all they had in store for us in this section, or were there more cute little surprises hidden about?

'Ok.' Alex was taking charge thankfully. The rest of us were standing there like stunned mullets, still peering in wonder at the cut on Paulo's leg.

'What's the plan?' Amber shook her head slightly, blinked and shifted her focus to Alex's face.

'Spread out, keeping as far apart from each other as possible. I know that means we can't help each other, but it also means we can't knock each other into the wire. Go slowly and don't rush. Watch out for the wire and stay calm.'

'Yes, coach,' I replied, giving him a quick salute. Yeah, I'd mixed Army with pre-game pep talk, but so what? I was under a lot of stress.

'Let's go,' Alex said, moving towards the far wall. Amber followed, stopping a metre or so from him, while Paulo and I went the other way, leaving Li in the middle.

'Remember, guys,' Alex called. 'Your own pace. We're not racing.'

I waited for a moment after the others had started, watching where they maneuvered around the wires. Li, obviously, had the least troubled, stepping and at times leaping nimbly over and under the wires. Amber, too, had relatively no trouble, although her muttered curses could be heard from time to time. Alex was a surprise. Although he wasn't heavily built, I'd never really thought of him as a flexible, supremely coordinated gymnast, which was what he looked like now. Then there was Paulo. The opposite of Alex, the only reason Paulo didn't cut himself in half on the very first wire was because of his super balance. He kept a close eye on Li, next to him, and tried to follow along after her, but it wasn't really working. My eyes drifted to the floor and I winced as I saw the drops of red.

'Come on, Hex!' Amber. Of course, it had to be Amber. 'Chicken?'

'Nah,' I retorted. 'Just watching you guys fail.'

She snorted, rolled her eyes and went back to concentrating on getting through the next set of wires.

Li, a few wires ahead, stopped suddenly, balanced on the toes of one foot, arms out. 'Sheesh,' she hissed. 'They've got double strands now.'

Paulo groaned, but kept pressing forward. No doubt he wouldn't even think of complaining about his own cuts, insisting on dealing with ours first.

'Come on, Hex,' Amber repeated.

'I'm coming. I'm coming.'

Right. First strand was easy enough. That was the one that had sliced into Paulo's leg. I stepped over it and stopped, searching for the next one. I winced again. Neck height. Under that one, over the next two, under the fifth and over the sixth. _Hey_, I thought stupidly. _This ain't so bad_.

Of course, just like Amber's remark when Li was on the beam, it had to come back and take a bite. The next strand seemed a metre away, so I walked forward confidently, straight into a wire.

'Frick!' I yelped, stepping backwards. My left arm had a deep slash and blood was oozing out. Biting my lip, I forced myself to stop moving backwards, knowing I'd cut the backs of my calves if I kept going, and started forward again.

For the next five wires, I blocked everything else out and focused solely on spotting the wires and getting past them. When I'd hopped over twelfth, Li said, 'Double strands, Hex.'

I looked up, surprised to see all four of my friends safely out of the wire trap and standing on the ledge separating the next part from here. 'How many more?' I managed to force out.

'Seven,' Amber answered, looking up from dabbing at a deep gash just above her knee. 'They're all double strands except for the last one.'

I sighed. 'Single, is it?'

'No. Triple.'

Great. Just flipping great. I hadn't really understood what they'd meant by double strands until I was staring at the stupid wires. Two of the bloody things stretched out across the room, one at eye height, the other at ankle height.

'Ok,' I murmured ducking a bit and stepping over it. 'That was easy enough.'

It got worse. The next set were slightly closer together, and so on and so on until the seventeenth strand where I had to just about curl up and wish myself through the pathetically tiny gap. I made it, but not without getting a cut or two on my back, arms and legs. By this stage, with two sets left, I had blood streaked down every limb, my shirt was sticky and clinging and my muscles ached. The last set of two passed by in a blur and before I knew what was happening, I was facing the trio.

Now, I wouldn't say I was suicidal, but I really just didn't care any more. Fabulous attitude to have, but I couldn't help it. Who knew how long the bloody maze was going to go for and what we had top face next. It was just easier to go about everything with an "I couldn't care less" attitude and hang the consequences.

Barely noticing the strands and certainly not registering the yells from my friends, I somehow made it through the trio without mishap. Standing up straight, I wandered casually over and pulled myself up onto the ledge.

'Hex.' Li was suddenly in my face. 'How did you do that?'

'Huh?' What the heck was she talking about?

'That last one. The three strand. You didn't even touch it. How?'

'Um…' Good question. How? It was like my mind had skipped away on a short holiday, returning fresh and relaxed after my body had somehow gotten through the tricky trio. 'I honestly don't know.'

'But-'

'Ok, Li,' Paulo said firmly, pulling her back a bit. 'Let's give Hex some breathing space, ok?'

My adrenaline levels were back up. 'No need,' I said quickly, getting up and looking down into the next section. 'Let's keep moving.'

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LI'S POV

'Sweeeeeeeeet!' I grinned. 'Literally.'

'Ok,' Amber muttered. 'This is just getting weird now.'

Our next challenge was… to swim through a pool of honey! Ok, I had to admit, Amber was right. This maze just got weirder and weirder. I mean, honey? Really.

Hex saw the look on my face. 'Don't get too cocky,' he warned. 'I don't think this is going to be easy.'

I shrugged, gave another grin and slipped off the edge of the platform into the honey.

'Whoa!' I exclaimed. Ok. Hex was right. The honey was _thick_ and a bugger to move in. Still, I wasn't about to admit that. 'Come on in, guys,' I called up at them. 'The honey's fine.'

There was a whoop from Paulo before he landed with a _plop_ next to me. Amber and Alex followed quickly and then Hex, sighing loudly, joined us.

'Yuck,' Amber whined. She floundered in the honey, her head held high. 'Ewwwwwww.'

'Come on, Amber,' Paulo joked, swimming forwards. 'Your hair will be fine.'

The scowl on Amber's face quickly disappeared and was replaced by a grin. 'Oh? Really? And what about _your_ hair, Paulo?'

Chuckling like chickens with all grain they could possibly dream of, we started to struggle across the pool. For the group of spectators peering down at us, we must have looked pretty hilarious, though no sound came from the viewing platform overhead and I couldn't be bothered looking up.

We reached the end of the pool and stopped in relief. The honey was a bugger to swim through; it was so thick it took four times the effort and you still felt like you were getting nowhere.

'Where's the ledge?' I gasped, pressing my hands against the wall.

Alex, treading honey next to me, pushed up against the wall as well and then groaned. 'Not over yet.'

'What?' Amber swam up next to Alex and blinked at him.

'There's no ledge,' Alex pointed out, 'and there's a bug hole just under the... honeyline.'

We stared at him until Hex said slowly, 'So we gotta... swim underneath the honey, through a hole in the wall?' I wasn't that thrilled with the prospect, but Hex was on the verge of having a panic attack. His face turned paper white and he started breathing really fast. Paulo and Amber, bobbing in the honey on either side of him, quickly moved towards Hex, sandwiching him in between them.

'Hex?' Alex asked. 'You right, mate?'

Sucking in a deep breath through clenched teeth, Hex nodded stiffly. 'Yeah. Just not really looking forward to...' He trailed off, but we all knew what he was trying to say. Claustrophobia rears its ugly head again.

Alex studied Hex's face, squared his shoulders and then, without a word, dove under the surface and disappeared.

'Alex!' Amber gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. The four of us floated helplessly, waiting minute after minute without knowing if Alex was ok or not.

Eventually, I couldn't stand it any longer.

'Bye!' I said shortly, before ducking under the surface and making a beeline for the wall.

My cheeks bulged as I felt wildly, blindly, for the hole. _Where are you?_ I screamed inside my head. I had no idea how long the tunnel was and I needed every bit of breath I could hold just in case. Finally, after what seemed like an age, my hands grasped the edge of the hole. Wriggling into a better position, I angled my body and pulled myself through the hole, trying to get as much momentum as possible and failing miserably. Kicking desperately, I continued to propel myself along using the edges of the hole for leverage.

Thinking back, I realise now that the hole couldn't have been more than half a metre in length, but combine that with the absolute darkness and the painfully slow progress and the whole ordeal seemed ten times as long.

One minute I was struggling along, my breath almost gone, and the next I was struggling upwards, kicking furiously. As I popped up on the surface, honey sticking on my face, hair, _everywhere_, and pulled huge breaths of air into my screaming lungs, I heard Alex exclaim, 'Wow. Do I look as bad as you?'

My head swivelled in the direction of his voice and I spluttered with laughter. Perched on the ledge marking the end of this section, Alex's face was a sticky, honey-coloured mess, his hair plastered in spikes all over his head. He'd managed to wipe the honey away from his eyes and they stared out at me with a freaked out, amused, slightly insane look.

'God, Alex,' I said, just holding back my giggles, 'what have you been _doing_?'

He shrugged. 'This and that.'

I was about to respond when something brushed past my body and popped to the surface next to me. Amber, her head in a worse state than Alex's, coughed, gagged and swam for the ledge. Alex pulled her up just as Hex emerged from the tunnel, spluttering and wincing on the surface. Moving incredibly fast for someone swimming through honey, Hex powered to the ledge and clambered up, retreating to the back corner and sitting there hunched up. Paulo came through last, appearing with slightly less drama than Hex or Amber had. He calmly stroked over to us, pulled himself up next to me and said, 'That was fun. What's next?'

**

* * *

**

GREG'S POV

'Greg,' Helena hissed in my ear. 'This _isn't_ entertaining. They're supposed to be _dead_ already.

'Yeah, yeah,' I murmured, my eyes never leaving the five teenagers as they sat on the last ledge. Covered in honey, they still had smiling faces. What was wrong with them? Didn't they- Oh. I chuckled. Of course they didn't know that they couldn't escape the maze. That was the fun part.

They were still sitting on the ledge; they hadn't even looked down into the next pit yet. I focused on their faces closely, waiting for their reaction when they saw what awaited them. Still though... I tapped my fingers on the railing. True, my maze had been built on a budget and didn't contain _nearly_ as many obstacles as I'd wanted, but it was still difficult. Still drained you both physically and mentally. Still should have stopped them before this.

I wished I didn't have to kill them now. Li... Li had been something else. Half the age of the majority of my staff and double the talent. Pity she went bad. Then what about her friends? They may not have had the skill that Li had, but they had enthusiasm and different talents that I could utilise. I shook my head and gave a half smile as I realised I was thinking about them in the past tense.

'Ohhhhh,' Helena squealed beside me. She was really starting to annoy of late. 'They're in the pool!

I switched my attention back to the kids and watched in amazement as they swam forward with steady, confident strokes. In just a second they would...

'SOMETHING'S IN HERE!' One of the girls, couldn't tell whether it was Li or- what was her name? Amber?- but the scream still made me freeze. It was only then that I realised something: these were the first kids I'd ever killed. My face paled, then hardened. I'd been contracted to get rid of them and that was a duty I was going to uphold.

Li was treading water, her eyes wide as she searched for the hidden threat. The other girl was spinning around in the water, her actions mirrored by the three guys.

Suddenly Rocky emerged from the depths, his snout just poking above the water. Phew! He'd grown! A lot. I made a mental note to build an extension for him- couldn't have an unhappy croc, now could we?- and watched, holding my breath. Rocky swam slowly forwards, watching them. The kids were moving slowly backwards- under instruction from Li it seemed- and heading back for the ledge. Time to shut them off, but I wasn't going to be as mean as I usually was.

After I hit the button, a door slid up, sealing them off from the honey pool but leaving the ledge open. Five faces turned in my direction and I stared back, my face set. Rocky disappeared and the girl lost it.

'Get me OUTTA here!' she yelled, leaping for the ledge. Her hands grabbed the edge and she kicked up the wall, quickly reaching its safety. The boys followed, with Li bringing up the rear. They huddled together, watching the water. My hand hovered over another button; one touch would start to heat up the ledge, eventually forcing them to burn on it or go back into the water with Rocky.

But something made me pull my hand away. Was I having a conscience flash? Thinking of karma? Maybe. Maybe deep down I really was having second thoughts about killing the kids. Maybe I would have got them out and done something else instead. But then-

'Armed police!'

'Get down!'

'Nobody move!'

'Armed police!'

My hand hovered over the button. I could press it down and be done with it. I could press it and finish the job. Helena decided for me. She snagged my arm and dragged me to the ground, tears pouring down her face.

'I- I,' she sobbed, 'I love you, Greg.'

I winced. Jeeze. My evening couldn't get any worse.

* * *

Alpha Force, sitting huddle together, watched the chaos unfolding above them in wonder.

'Kids?' Lester's worried face peered over the railing. 'You all right?'

Amber's face crumpled. 'Yeah.' Her voice wobbled. 'We're fine, thanks.'

'We'll get you out in a minute,' Lester continued. 'Just sit tight.'

The five friends shared a look.

'Everyone ok?' Alex asked.

Paulo looked at his hands, legs and arms while Hex, Amber and Li copied him. They grinned as one.

'Right as rain,' they said in unison. 'Right as rain.'


End file.
